Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Price Target Lowered to $84.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has lowered the price target for Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) from $92.00 to $84.00, maintaining a "market perform" rating with a potential upside of 8.74% from the current price.
• The company reported earnings per share of $1.31 for the last quarter, which was below expectations of $1.55, and it generated revenue of $1.29 billion, slightly missing forecasts.
• Recent insider transactions include EVP Joseph Eppers buying 1,402 shares and Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh purchasing 2,000 shares, indicating increased confidence among executives in the company's performance.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) had its target price cut by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $92.00 to $84.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the insurance provider's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $90.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.00.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Down 1.8%

SIGI stock traded down $1.44 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $77.97. 804,743 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 450,704. Selective Insurance Group has a 12-month low of $71.75 and a 12-month high of $103.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $86.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.13.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.24). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.50% and a return on equity of 12.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.10) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Selective Insurance Group's payout ratio is 24.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joseph Eppers bought 1,402 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $76.82 per share, with a total value of $107,701.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,635.44. This trade represents a 12.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $75.72 per share, with a total value of $151,440.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 25,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,915,337.40. This represents a 8.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 9,102 shares of company stock valued at $701,940 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,756,225 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $618,465,000 after acquiring an additional 135,324 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,150,662 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $99,705,000 after acquiring an additional 22,410 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,109,922 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $96,175,000 after acquiring an additional 63,255 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,052,142 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $98,396,000 after acquiring an additional 89,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,409,000. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

Selective Insurance Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Standard Commercial Lines, Standard Personal Lines, E&S Lines, and Investments. It offers casualty insurance products that covers the financial consequences of employee injuries in the course of employment and bodily injury and/or property damage to a third party; property insurance products, which covers the accidental loss of an insured's real property, personal property, and/or earnings due to the property's loss; and flood insurance products.